Opinion: Jenny from the Bloc

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... I ... welcome back to Opinion Journal we're looking at a photograph of singer Jennifer Lopez also known as J Lo ... who was come under criticism this week for singing ... happy birthday to the ruler of Turkmenistan ... Wall Street Journal Assistant books under Saurabh Mari is here with the story served ... what's wrong with Turkmenistan what's wrong with making money yet ... seen the rulers of Central Asia ... there's a lot to strong with the ... married it did to start with Turkmenistan is this of ... under reported ... North Korea style her making them ... human rights ... watch calls that country marked by extraordinary levels ... of repression ... now lot of their oppression the people might remember ... was built in ... under the previous ruler ... who died in two thousandsix ... ay ay he was in the and the odds of he was very famous for ... remaining months in the calendar After has been himself and members of his family ... he banned ... you know aam lit seeking a concert so fiance was in trouble if she was the serenading him ... he ... vanished dogs from the capital because he doesn't like their voters and he said that on TV anchors can't wear makeup ... because he had trouble ... distinguishing male and female anchors a servant of or at style ... they cater to that of emotion take it lightly he was the isthe internal candidate to serve our editorial page has never high-end trains to politics so I'll asking the question can anyone is fawn when J Lo ... I'm going to make some money off of this guy any should mean Gates's countries that we yet ... we want them to reform ... no because these are the heads of pensions that they don't perform another was when when the last guy was talking about it ... and about died in two thousandsix ... on them the man who can replace them ... was a so-called Turkmen reformer and ... now fast forward to today and you have tangible was that Mrs ... who are ... under under detention for of for being conscientious objectors ... to military service in the country you have ... this in in school or a word ... in being jailed a to hell ... in a facility at a facility that's called ... Hunchback because the ceiling for foreign detainees is so low that they always have to sew them back ... Mr. Naeimi can't stand ... fully so ... do these oppressive regimes that don't reform now ... I'm you know Turkmenistan is not an adversary of the US um I'm not advocating regime change or or or anything of the sort ... but singers like J Lo who ... profess to be supporters of human rights issue last week she ... marched and ... add another rally for a form of women's health and education and so forth ... can then turn around and think they can get away in a day in the age of Twitter and and the internet ... with it he was performing for ... you know of skew or ... several tyrants like Turkmenistan that Lee shore inching she's not the first thing to do this either a new Fed Ghadafi serenaded by the American stars and had ... Jay-Z and E on SE going to Cuba ... what you what why do these ... the musical stars Popstars didn't pass ... in this country and in is that changing in the age of Twitter ... is changing I think I think it's especially that of Jeezy N and E on SE ... in in in Cuba ... that that that that sort of got a backlash in the back rest and just come from our own ... David Feith who who who did the media for opinion Journal it also came from the rapper pitbull who has who has Cuban roots ... and a hall called Jeezy out and said ... you know I'd you know the other of a free Cuba and this was not a cool move dude so I'm in the DVD of a backlash I think in the case of places like Turkmenistan ... or steamed one and performed in Uzbekistan where ... the dead the replica leader there ... as a car Mommy is famous for boiling is that if the dissidents alive ... you know laughing visits I guess I'll find the right this is the staggering level of oppression he says that there's your citing the celebrities ... think they can get away with it who who who I mean you read the didn't really think ... Turkmenistan would become an issue for probably not I think that's why they think they get over the past because these are ... up on known authoritarianism as opposed to Cuba that everyone knows is in about a communist ... dictatorship an enemy of the U S J Lo Jenny from the block is the means of the